average cities outside metropolitan regions. This corroborates the hypothesis that
suburban cities are often preferred by higher income/educated households (Musterd
and Ostendorf 2013)—two socioeconomic variables positively correlated with
health (Dora Costa and Lleras-Muney 2013). In addition, the lifestyle associated
with suburban cities is based on lower density land use, which leads, for example, to
the extensive use of cars. In turn, this negatively affects the environmental performance of suburban cities as compared with other city categories.
Applying the first criterion to the indicators allows for the classification of cities
based on the scores that they obtain. As such, it is possible to determine the bestperforming cities based on their overall performance. These observations can be
detailed by grouping and comparing cities of the same size and then determining the
most influential indicators on their relative performance. Additionally, the creation
of profiles of cities constitutes an interesting avenue to allow for the comparison of
these territories and represents a fair means for contextualizing the interpretation of
observations. The profiles can be generated using the basic characteristics of the
cities (e.g., population size).
Table 10.2 Overall ranking of the 25 largest cities in Québec in 2011
Cities
Population 2011
EI
SEI
Global Index
Rank
Blainville
53,510
À0.14
0.93
0.79
1
Dollard-Des Ormeaux
49,637
À0.13
0.83
0.7
2
Lévis
138,769
0.12
0.51
0.63
3
Brossard
79,273
0.24
0.3
0.54
4
Sherbrooke
154,601
0.44
À0.04
0.4
5
Québec
516,622
0.2
0.2
0.4
6
Terrebonne
106,322
À0.16
0.52
0.36
7
Gatineau
265,349
0.46
À0.18
0.28
8
Victoriaville
43,462
0.31
À0.1
0.21
9
St-Jean-sur-Richelieu
92,394
À0.46
0.58
0.12
10
St-Hyacinthe
53,236
0.07
0.03
0.1
11
Repentigny
82,000
À0.26
0.25
À0.01
12
Rimouski
46,860
0.16
À0.18
À0.02
13
Longueuil
231,409
0.18
À0.21
À0.03
14
Montréal
1,649,519
0.48
À0.53
À0.05
15
Drummondville
71,852
À0.16
0.05
À0.11
16
Chateauguay
45,904
À0.02
À0.07
À0.09
17
Laval
401,553
À0.1
À0.19
À0.29
18
Saguenay
144,746
À0.07
À0.22
À0.29
18
Granby
63,433
À0.52
0.1
À0.42
20
Saint-Eustache
44,154
À0.33
À0.1
À0.43
21
Rouyn-Noranda
41,012
0.22
À0.68
À0.46
22
Trois-Rivières
131,338
À0.26
À0.4
À0.66
23
Saint-Jérôme
68,456
À0.22
À0.56
À0.78
24
Shawinigan
50,060
À0.31
À0.64
À0.95
25
194
G. A. Tanguay and J. Rajaonson
suburban cities are often preferred by higher income/educated households (Musterd
and Ostendorf 2013)—two socioeconomic variables positively correlated with
health (Dora Costa and Lleras-Muney 2013). In addition, the lifestyle associated
with suburban cities is based on lower density land use, which leads, for example, to
the extensive use of cars. In turn, this negatively affects the environmental performance of suburban cities as compared with other city categories.
Applying the first criterion to the indicators allows for the classification of cities
based on the scores that they obtain. As such, it is possible to determine the bestperforming cities based on their overall performance. These observations can be
detailed by grouping and comparing cities of the same size and then determining the
most influential indicators on their relative performance. Additionally, the creation
of profiles of cities constitutes an interesting avenue to allow for the comparison of
these territories and represents a fair means for contextualizing the interpretation of
observations. The profiles can be generated using the basic characteristics of the
cities (e.g., population size).
Table 10.2 Overall ranking of the 25 largest cities in Québec in 2011
Cities
Population 2011
EI
SEI
Global Index
Rank
Blainville
53,510
À0.14
0.93
0.79
1
Dollard-Des Ormeaux
49,637
À0.13
0.83
0.7
2
Lévis
138,769
0.12
0.51
0.63
3
Brossard
79,273
0.24
0.3
0.54
4
Sherbrooke
154,601
0.44
À0.04
0.4
5
Québec
516,622
0.2
0.2
0.4
6
Terrebonne
106,322
À0.16
0.52
0.36
7
Gatineau
265,349
0.46
À0.18
0.28
8
Victoriaville
43,462
0.31
À0.1
0.21
9
St-Jean-sur-Richelieu
92,394
À0.46
0.58
0.12
10
St-Hyacinthe
53,236
0.07
0.03
0.1
11
Repentigny
82,000
À0.26
0.25
À0.01
12
Rimouski
46,860
0.16
À0.18
À0.02
13
Longueuil
231,409
0.18
À0.21
À0.03
14
Montréal
1,649,519
0.48
À0.53
À0.05
15
Drummondville
71,852
À0.16
0.05
À0.11
16
Chateauguay
45,904
À0.02
À0.07
À0.09
17
Laval
401,553
À0.1
À0.19
À0.29
18
Saguenay
144,746
À0.07
À0.22
À0.29
18
Granby
63,433
À0.52
0.1
À0.42
20
Saint-Eustache
44,154
À0.33
À0.1
À0.43
21
Rouyn-Noranda
41,012
0.22
À0.68
À0.46
22
Trois-Rivières
131,338
À0.26
À0.4
À0.66
23
Saint-Jérôme
68,456
À0.22
À0.56
À0.78
24
Shawinigan
50,060
À0.31
À0.64
À0.95
25
194
G. A. Tanguay and J. Rajaonson